4 reasons why Mauricio Pochettino should not go to Real Madrid

#3 He might demand too much of Madrid’s stars

Would Pochettino be able to impose his style on big personalities like Sergio Ramos?

One notable aspect of Pochettino’s management style is that he demands a lot from his players. In Pochettino’s world, it’s all or nothing – you either buy into his system and his way of doing things, or you can easily find yourself out in the cold.

Just ask the likes of Nacer Chadli and Vlad Chiriches, who were quickly sent packing from White Hart Lane, or Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose, who were frozen out for months last season after crossing the boss.

This method – almost Alex Ferguson-esque – has clearly worked wonders with many of Tottenham’s stars, Harry Kane included, but could it really work at Madrid? I’m not so sure. Pochettino took over a Tottenham side who were almost slipping into mid-table mediocrity under Tim Sherwood, and that meant that he took charge of a set of players ready to be moulded into his ideal vision.

Madrid, however, are the reigning European champions and while they’re in a small crisis at the minute, it’d be hard to label them anything but pure-bred winners. They’re also a squad full of huge personalities like Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and Karim Benzema.

Could Pochettino really mould players like that into his way of thinking? Or would the likes of Ramos simply hold too much power within the Bernabeu to be frozen out if they refused to tow the line as Alderweireld and Rose were at Tottenham?

As a fan, it’d be interesting to see Pochettino try, but from the Argentine’s point of view, would it really be worth the hassle? If he were to take over Madrid, he’d have to start from scratch and would perhaps have to overhaul the squad. And why would he want to do that?